Kashiwa Mochi/Story
'Fondness Story' I. Nightmare I'm not sure where I should go. In my heart, I've always aimed to be stronger. My Master Attendant died in front of my eyes. More accurately, behind me. At that time, Master Attendant and I thought that the retreating Fallen Angels had already exhausted most of their strength, so we left our companions to chase after them. We sought victory, and also wanted to prove ourselves. But we were blinded by our zeal. We didn’t know that those retreating Fallen Angels would quickly retaliate upon seeing us single handedly taking them on. We were surrounded. Master Attendant and I were separated by the crowd of Fallen Angels. I'm not as strong as Unadon. As a human, Master Attendant has no strength to defend himself against them. My heart thumped. Every time I rushed towards them, I was defeated and pushed backwards. It was only when I tried to attack the enemy assaulting from the rear that I saw Master Attendant collapse under the Fallen Angel's sharp claws. My movements froze at that instant, and the Fallen Angels’ howls seemed to slow down. It was almost as if time was being stretched infinitely until I turned behind in a confused state. Fresh blood spewed, and covered both the sky and my eyes. Afterwards, I was unconscious. It was like a dream. In it, Master Attendant was waiting for me from afar as he shouted my name in a booming voice. I continuously chased after him, but was still unable to shorten the distance between us. A stretch of black river is blocking my path. A terrifying wave flowed through it and I dared not to move an inch closer. I want to run across that river, but the water was like a pair of hands trying to drag me in. I stretched my hand towards Master Attendant, who was standing afar, and screamed in despair. "Master Attendant! Master Attendant!" I was suddenly awakened after I called out to him. Tears uncontrollably gushed out from my eyes and it took me a while to hear the voices around me clearly. "Kashiwa Mochi is awake! Call the General here! " II. Escape Not long after, I ran away from the General. I was ashamed to face the General, who also treated me like his child. Master Attendant is the General's only son. When he was young, he secretly learned to make kashiwa mochi. During the fifth month, when the sun was at its most unforgiving, and the calamus bloomed, Master Attendant would show his kashiwa mochi to the General. He patted his chest and said that he'll become an amazing samurai, just like the General. By the General's side, Unadon was drinking some beer, and loudly praised Master Attendant’s ambitions. After that, the General gave him some crystals that he got from the Emperor. Unadon said that I was summoned as a result. When I was first born, I wasn't very strong. Unadon told me that this could possibly be related to the poor quality of kashiwa mochi Master Attendant made. Master Attendant, practicing his fencing, overheard Unadon and turned his wooden sword to smack Unadon's hands. "Unadon! Even if you're my fencing sensei, I won’t allow you to bully my Food Soul! Moreover, the kashiwa mochi I made back then was perfect! Even father praised me!" "Hahaha, looks like the little prince has finally grown up and is now protecting others." "Of course, it's my responsibility to protect my Food Soul! " "It’s supposed to be me who protects Master Attendant! I'll become stronger!" "That's right, it's good that both of you trust each other. In the future, both of you will become respectable samurai." The people of the prefecture, including Unadon and the General, treated us equally. Just as how others would treat Unadon and the General at the same level of respect, I was given the same treatment as Master Attendant. The two of us eat together, live together, learn fencing together, and practice fighting techniques together. When the General was testing Master Attendant's learning progress, he would also check up on my homework. He didn't criticize me for being so weak; rather, he motivated me and asked Unadon to guide me on how to use the strength of a Food Soul in battle. I secretly swore to grow mightier and protect Master Attendant from any harm. Also, I would never disappoint the General. Yet, I failed. That's why, not long after recovering consciousness, I ran away from the General. I don't dare to face the stoically anguished General. I must become stronger. I must find a way to make up for all of this. III. Training At first, I trained tirelessly in the mountains on my own. When we were still in the capital, Master Attendant and I adored those epic samurai stories. They underwent brutal training before achieving fame. In spring, they would clash with those wild beasts of the forest. In summer, they would mediate or squat under a waterfall. In autumn, they climbed tall and jagged mountains. In winter, they would swim in bone-chilling rivers. I thought that I would become a respected and heroic samurai if I could complete all of them. This would be enough to achieve my objective. Indeed, I did try to do it. When I was fighting with those wild beasts, I ran out of the forest because I was horribly wounded by their bites; there were many injuries all over me. Additionally, I've experienced the beating of the gushing waterfall in the rainy season; I had bruises from head to toe and I couldn't even raise my arms. I tried to scale a tall and bumpy peak. There were a few times where I almost fell off because of poor climbing holds. I've also tried to swim in the river. But in the end, I got muscle cramps from the extreme cold, and almost drowned. At first, training was unsuccessful. Yet, I persisted and became more skilled over time. The improvements were very clear. I was no longer chased by wild animals, I could accurately swing my blade in the correct stance beneath the waterfall, I could immediately identify where to climb, and my swimming speed has increased tremendously. Once I easily toppled over a brown bear taller than me by half my height, I'm confident that I've become stronger. To test my current strength, I decided to fight those Fallen Angels once more. As such, I left the mountain where I'd been training for years and went to many places to gather information about where Fallen Angels could be found. Many guides advised me not to go out there once they knew I intended to challenge the Fallen Angels. However, I've already made up my mind. If I don't face those monsters, how can I know if the strength I have today is enough to protect others. ——I must test my capabilities! IV. Proof of Strength I went to a certain location where Fallen Angels would supposedly emerge. The area was tranquil, and appeared to be dead. The leaves shuddering in the wind made a whooshing sound, as if discreetly signalling to me about hidden danger. It was always so bustling in the mountains, yet it was never silent like here. It was so quiet that it felt exceptionally tense. I firmly gripped my tanto and cautiously scanned my surroundings to avoid a Fallen Angel’s sudden attack. Crack. The instant I stepped on a twig, snapping it, a group of black shadows dashed towards me. I instinctively dodged their attack and looked. It's a bunch of ferocious Fallen Angels. They were huge and terrifying. When they knew their ambush was unsuccessful, they made an ear-piercing roar and summoned minions to surround me. I never realized that the memory of that battle would appear again in my mind. I thought I had already forgotten it. But I could still remember the fear that gripped our hearts when we faced those Fallen Angels. My hand, tightly gripping the tanto, quivered. Sweat dropped down my forehead, and my footsteps felt heavier and heavier. The Fallen Angels are getting closer. No, I came here because I want to prove that I'm stronger. I can't back down. I clenched my jaw and moved a step forward, pointing the blade at the nearest Fallen Angels. I took a deep breath before charging at them. In the mountains, a scream reverberates through the air. During the battle, I realized I'm actually stronger. My reaction time and attack strength had been boosted. However, there were many more Fallen Angels pouring out than I thought there would be. My energy was being sapped very quickly as I continuously fought. Those minion Fallen Angels were all vanquished. Yet, the strongest one has been keeping a close eye on me, waiting to pounce. I half-knelt on the floor and panted heavily; at the same time, I stared at that Fallen Angel. From the start, I knew that below the hideous exterior of a Fallen Angel lay terrifying power. The me back then did not have the power to single handedly slay those Fallen Angels. On the other hand, the me now has already become much stronger. I can most certainly subdue it. I slowly stood up and pointed my knife at the monster. Screaming at the top of my lungs, I rushed towards it. "Come! Let's see whether or not you'll live after this shot!" V. Kashiwa Mochi Kashiwa Mochi's Master Attendant was a little samurai who has yet to grow up. Both of them made the same wish: To become the mighty samurai of those stories, unmatched by any other. Hence, they underwent many series of training. From the viewpoint of a peaceful country, even Food Souls must adhere to the fighting styles of humans. Only a small portion were able to properly use their power. Unadon is one of them. While Unadon wasn't necessarily serious when he trained Kashiwa Mochi, he could see that Kashiwa wanted to be a samurai, just like his Master Attendant, and even more, the General, not a "Food Soul Samurai" like him. Kashiwa Mochi and his Master Attendant ate and lived together. Therefore, it can't be helped when his behaviors were getting more similar to his Master Attendant’s. There's nothing wrong with it. Like a child who would learn from his parents and become a fantastic parent in their image, this was a cycle of human societies. But Food Souls differ. Normally, if Foods Souls were to fight like a human, there wouldn't be any significant difference. But once they encounter a powerful Fallen Angel, a human's fighting style will not work. Because Kashiwa Mochi is used to fighting in that manner, it meant he was more likely to be ambushed when fighting against those creatures. After his Master Attendant's death, Kashiwa Mochi became engrossed in his training. His reaction time improved and his fighting capabilities rose, but his fighting style remained unchanged. That Fallen Angel residing in the mountain was very powerful. Once Kashiwa Mochi defeated those minion Fallen Angels, he was already too tired. There were many weak spots left in his fighting techniques, which the Fallen Angel spotted. It was quick to exploit this when fighting. Kashiwa Mochi couldn't understand why he was beginning to feel disadvantaged. The Fallen Angel’s attacks hit harder and harder, and that feeling of helplessness back then resurfaced. The Fallen Angel's Soul Power sent Kashiwa Mochi tumbling down. His tanto fell out of his hand, falling far from his reach. Looking at the slowly encroaching Fallen Angel, Kashiwa Mochi's heart grew heavy. He thought: Will he never ever become stronger? Tears filled his eyes, and he looked at that Fallen Angel, about to deliver the killing blow. He suddenly thought about how his Master Attendant felt before dying. The thought of him caused Kashiwa Mochi to think about his current goal. Even though he was useless, ultimately, at least he gave it his all. Kashiwa Mochi rolled on the ground to dodge the attack. With great difficulty, he crawled towards his tanto, but displaying his resilience. The Fallen Angel closely chased after him, and was about to strike again. Someone blocked that final blow. "You didn't give up, even after knowing you can’t beat it. Not bad, kid." Kashiwa Mochi grabbed onto his tanto and turned around immediately. A stranger stood between him and the Fallen Angel. He didn’t look particularly muscular, and was using his jitte to block. "Stand up. We're going to defeat it together!"Category:Food Soul Story